Manufacture of cement



July '2, 1935. Q H, BREERWQOD 2,006,939

MANUFACTURE OF CEMENT Filed June 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l SECONDARY CRusHEn BATCH HOPPERS KLN FEED BIN INVENTOR C H BREERWOOD ATTORNEY 7 Y'July 2, 1935. C, H, BREERWOOD 2,006,939

MANUFACTURE OF CEMENT Filed June 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WASH Mms SUSPENDED FINES CA(oH)2 WASTE THACKENER BLENmNG TANKS Klm FEED Bm SEcoNnAAY CRusHER FmEs CoAsE TREATED PULVERIZER AS m BAENDANG u TANKS INVENTOR C.H .BREERWUOD Bgm; @Mim fm ATTORNEYS Patented July 2, 1935 vUNITED n STATES l l 2,006,039 MANUFACTURE oF CEMENT Charles H. Breerwood, Narberth, Pa., assignor to Valley Forge Cement Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania -ApplicationvJune r5, 1934, Serial No. 729,099 16 Claims. (Cl. 10G-25) This invention relates to the manufacture of Portland cement, its modiiications and special cements, in which compounds of calcium and silica. are the principal constituents. More particularly it is `concerned with the preliminary treatment of available inferior argillaceous limestones, to derive therefrom ultimate mixtures of predetermined analysis. These mixtures are prepared without resorting to the expense and usually incompletely effective prior practice of adding correctives, such as limestone, to improve the composition. The new method makes it possible for the chemist to segregate the principal constituents of a cement raw material mixture from an inferior original rock, and to combine them in the desired proportions and ratios. It is a further purpose to discard excessive quantities of certain constituents and to eliminate entirely uncombinable forms of silica, particularly 20 coarse quartz, and quantities of certain undesirable compounds or foreign materials occurring in the natural rock. The products of the new method are both physically and chemically especially suitable for burning to cement clinker, and` are prepared at lower cost than those reduced and compounded by conventional practice.

The new method is especially applicable to the treatment of inferior argillaceous limestones or cement rocks, which may be classified for pur- 30 poses of the present invention into two general types. The iirst of these includes those rocks which have heretofore been employed as the principal component of a Portland cement mixture, compounded with the necessary quantity of a corrective, as by adding limestone when the original rock is deficient in calcium. The second type includes those rocks which, owing to their composition, cannot be corrected to produce a cement of the type desired by combination with one or more correctives.

These inferior argillaceous limestones occur in great profusion and typical examples are found in the Lehigh Valley district. These rocks contain the essential constituents calcium, silica, alumina and iron, but the relative proportions and the physical condition varywidely, even in the same quarry. Most of it is deficient in calcium carbonate, excessive in silica, including uncombinable forms, excessive in alumina particularly with respect to the newer types of Portland cement, such as Boulder Dam specification cement, and satisfactory with respect to iron. Almost invariably a part of the silica occurs as quartz, `all of which is not reduced by ordinary methods of grinding to particle sizes Lwhich will react-favorably with'the calcium during the process of burning to clinker. The alumina apparently occurs solely as silicates of v alumina, principally micaseous.y These compounds of silica and alumina are usable forms of both of 5 these essential constituents, but where the total alumina present exceeds that desired for Athe final mixture, as is almost invariably the case when it is desiredk to producev lo-w alumina or Boulder Dam type cement, the addition of high 10 'grade limestone as a corrective of the lime or hydraulic modulus does not reduce the relative proportion of alumina sufficiently to correct the silica modulus. Further, these combined forms make it impossible to obtain complete correction by the addition of other normal correctives, including iron compounds.

` Rock of generally similar composition, but containing magnesia in proportions slightly above the permissible limit also occurs in this and other districts. Heretofore, all of this stone has been considered useless, as no commercial method was known for decreasing the magnesia content. 'I'he present method permits a partial elimination, in some cases upto approximately one-half ofthe vtotal magnesia content, and accordingly also makes available for cement manufacture vast quantities of rock of this composition. Y

. In my Patent No. 1,931,921, I have explained in detail the manufacturing and chemical difculties resulting from the presence of coarse quartz in a final mixture of correct chemical analysis. The terms coarse quartz are intended to mean those particles which, although relatively line, are inseparable by known methods from the preliminary or ultimate mixture, but nevertheless too coarse for favorable combination with calcium at reasonable kiln temperatures. lIt is my opinion that particle sizes too large to pass a 325 mesh sieve should be eliminated from the mixture to producethe best results, and when the total available silica permits further elimination, better reactions are obtained by discarding even ner particles. In view of its relative hardness, no economical method exists for reducing all the coarsevquartz to combinable sizes, and accordingly it has been necessary to burnthe mixture at high temperatures withexcessive coal consumption. The presence ,of uncombined quartz' in the clinker makes the latter difiicult to grind.

As a result of the variable quantity of uncombinable silica and the uncertainty in the reactions in burning, present commercial cements are variable both in quality and strength, and do not'reach the expected theoretical maximum strengths. 55

The present invention enables the cement chemist to segregate the lime from the clay compounds, and further to segregate the coarse silica from these argillaceous materials. This permits him to discard excessive quantities of combinable silica with the coarse quartz and likewise enables him to control the proportion of alumina within the desired limits; that is, it enables him to exercise the closest control of the desired. final mixture, both as to proportions and ratios. Expressed in another way, the cement is produced substantially by synthesis, in that the ultimate mixture is combinable almost on a molecular basis.

Due to the elimination of the uncombinable or coarse silica, the reaction in burning the mixture to clinker is not only certain, but is also complete, whereby the ultimate quality of the cement can be predicted with accuracy. The calcium content of a mixture may therefore be increased safely beyond the present practical limits to produce sound cement of exceptional early and ultimate strength characteristics, with lime saturation approaching the maximum theoretical upper limit. Likewise, the relation and total quantities of alumina and iron are so controllable that the tri-calcium aluminate content of the cement may be kept within the desired limits, either for purposes of producing high early strength cements or low tri-calcium aluminate cements.

Although the most important advantage of the new method will appear to be the elimination of the enormous cost of adding correctives to inferior stones, or the utilization of rock heretofore considered practically worthless, the flexibility of the new method whereby a single inferior argillaceous limestone may be used as the source of mixtures for the production of various types of cements of the highest quality is one of its greatest advantages.

The new method makes it possible for the chemist to produce many types of cement economically in many areas where the natural composition of the rock is such that the desired mixtures cannot be obtained or corrected bymethods known heretofore with the exception of that disclosed in my patent above mentioned.

Another important economical advantage of the new method has to do with simplified quarry practice, whereby the rock can be removed with less care in selection, and reduced to especially suitable sizes for burning without grinding, as in present practice. Further, the calcium carbonate is converted to calcium hydrate, a form in which it can be employed if desired as a high lime corrective, and in which it combines readily due toits physical and chemical state.

In general, the new method comprises crushing the raw rock preferably to normal secondary crusher sizes with a minimum of fines, all of the product being preferably as nearly uniform in size as possible. As will be explained more particularly hereinafter, the particle sizes should preferably be 1 inch ring or less, in order to provide for uniform calcination to avoid uneconomical waste of the usable constituents.

This crushed product is then calcined to a degree sufficient to obtain a substantially complete ignition loss, but without heating the rock for a suicient length of time and at a temperature which will cause material reactions between the calcium, silica and to some extent alumina, and especially to avoid these reactions in the presence of water. As will appear more in detail hereinafter. this step is slightly critical, owing to the presence of combinable silica, which is made more reactive by the heating process, and should not be confused with the calcination of high grade limestones, for the purpose of producing caustic lime.

This calcined rock, preferably at the highest temperature that will permit satisfactory mechanical handling, is then submerged preferably by batches, to permit continuous operation, in an excess of water, approximately 10 'to 15 times the volume of the dry solids. The quantity of water is not critical, although a deficiency Will decrease the degree and quality of calcium recovery, as the calcium hydrate will not be completely suspended and an excessive quantity will require greater capacity in thickening apparatus.

Upon submergence, the rock, if properly calcined, begins to disintegrate immediately and even if not agitated, disintegration is usually complete within one to three minutes, due to quenching and the conversion of calcium oxide to calcium hydrate.

The argillaceous limestones, to be treated in accordance with the present process, contain fine quartz and other combinable silicas, and accordingly calcination if not carried out in the manner to be described hereinafter, will result in premature reactions, especially between the calcium and silica to form natural or Rosendale compounds, such as di-calcium silicate, and to some extent alumina compounds are formed. The hydraulic nature of these compounds, resulting from a greater degree of ealcinaticn than desired, partially or wholly prevents disintegration when the rock is submerged. In some cases these reactions are so complete, due to excessive heat treatment, that the rock will not disintegrate, and it will be realized that the degree of separation is limited by the extent of these reactions. As these compounds are eliminated from the mixture as waste, it will be seen that controlled calcination is essential in the economical employment of the process.

Extremely fine products of the crusher are especially difficult to calcine without involving the reactions described, and accordingly the crusher should be arranged to deliver a product of substantially uniform size or the various sizes should be screened and graded to be calcined separately. If the crusher delivers too large a quantity of fine products to be discarded as waste, and it is impractical with the calcining equipment available to limit their degree of heat treat-ment, they may be pulverized in a raw state separately and reduced to sizes suitable for burning and ultimately blended with the treated products as described more in detail hereinafter.

I prefer to submerge the calcined stone in a wash mill or its equivalent whereby it may be stirred for a short interval to accelerate disintegration and the suspension of all of the particles by stirring the batch for a brief interval. After stirring, the coarse quartz particles settle almost immediately, and the argillaceous compounds very quickly thereafter, usually within about 45 seconds.

As soon as the liquid appears white, indicating that the quartz and argillaceous compounds have settled, the milk of lime is decanted or drawn off to a thickener, from which it is ultimately delivered to slurry storage or correction tanks. When it is desired to have the lime compounds in greater density the underow of the thickener may be passed through conventional slurry filters. It will be realized that the degree of purity is increased by lengthening the interval of settling in the washv mill, but that for present purposes it is ordinarilypreferable to make the separation rapidlygas the ne particles of the constituents other than calcium are desired for the ultimate mixture. Thus,V a calcium oxide value in the neighborhood of 85% is tobe preferred. f

Water `is added in sunicient quantity to the residue remainingin the wash mill. to permit classication in a manner to be described more in detail hereinafter.l The coarse'silicas and excessive quantities of other constituents 'ofV the original rock kare discarded and the remaining nes are blended with the milk of lime either before or after thickening. The analyses of. the primary and secondary recoveries, and accordingly theouantities of undesirable matter discarded, are controlled by varying the degree of classiiic'ation, as by varying the interval of settling or the degree of agitation.

If the quantity of uncombinable or excessive silica present in the rock is not large, and the original composition is substantially uniform, the batch delivered to the wash mill may be stirred and decanted immediately after the coarse silicas are deposited, and both the calcium and other desired constituents may be drawn oif at the same time. This product may then be thickened to normal slurry moisture content, and delivered to slurry blending tanks, where it may ultimately he combined with other products in the proper proportions. However, in view of the wide variation in the comp-osition of the rock as quarried, and the uncertainty as` to the relative quantity of uncombinable silicas present from time to time,

and to avoid excessive care and expense in selecting and blending the rock prior to calcination, I prefer to treat the rock as it is received and regardless of its exact analysis, to segregate the unfavorable and usable constituents. The usable constituents are preferably delivered to separate slurry correction tanks in accordance with their analysis and ultimately combined by proportioning and blending in a manner similar to that practiced in wet process cement mills in blending raw material components and correctives.

Calcination and submergence in an excess of water makes possible the separation of the principal constituents of the rock. In the natural rock the particles are cemented or physically bonded togethery rather than chemically combined. By ordinary methods of pulverization, the reduced particles do not vary suinciently in size to permit segregation of the various compounds by classiiication. Calcination, however, at least partially releases the physical bond between all particles due to the loss of carbon dioxide in the conversion of calcium carbonate to Calcium oxide.

Upon hydration the calcium is released ascalcium hydrate in impalpable particle sizes, which are readily suspended in water.r The silica compounds are not substantially changed in size and accordingly settle out of suspensionquickly, due to their relatively much coarser sizes. a part at least of the crystalline silica or quartz particles have become amorphous due to the tern-A perature of calcination, the particle sizes are nevertheless relatively coarse as compared to the calcium hydrate. The silicates of aluminaare not substantially changed, and although they range from impalpable powder frequently to readily visible flakes of mica, the quantity of coarse particles present makes it possible to control the alumina content within the desired limits. In some of the argillaceous limestones with which I Although have.v experimented, suchas the sample referred 1vto hereinafter, the iron'compounds are naturally ne, which. evidently accounts for the fact that `they remain in suspension longer than any of the other compounds except calcium hydrate.

VPossibly the reduction in the magnesia content andto some extent the separation of the other compounds is due to relative difference in speciiic gravity, calcium hydrate having the lowest speciiic gravity of any of the constituents and that of magnesium hydrate greater than amorphous silica, but less than quartz. The specific gravity of the alumina compounds cannot be stated with accuracy, but most of `them are substantially equivalent to crystalline silica. The shape of these particles, particularly ther micas, makes their rate of settling diil'icult tol predict.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in A.which incidental and alternative steps are in dicated by dotted lines,V

Fig. l is a preferred ow diagram of the new method,

Fig. 2 is a. slightly modied form, which may be used where the variation in rock composition requires extreme iiexibility in blending, and

Fig. 3 is a modiedform which may be prac ticed when it is not desired to calcine the iine products of the Crusher.

As an example of an argillaceous limestone', which ymay be advantageously treated in accordance with each of the ow diagrams above mentioned, .a cement rock quarried at Evansville, Pennsylvania, will be referred to specifically. This rock was selected as an example because all of the constituents, with the exception of a part of the quartz, are exceptionally ne, the argillaceous compounds occurring in paper-thin lami-A nations betweenlaminations of impure calcium carbonate. y The specimen serves to illustrate the extreme separation that can be made, under the mostY diiicult conditions, to eliminate not only the coarse quartz but any desired quantity of fine siliceous compounds. It is so excessive in totalA silica and deficient in calcium carbonate that it may be considered as unusable for practical purposesby methods knownheretofore. Further, the addition of calcium carbonate as a corrective would not reduce. the alumina content suiiiciently to produce a low alumina cement. The iron content is satisfactory and the magnesia is within permissible limits, but it is obviously desirable to remove as much of this adulterant-as possible. The sample serves to illustrate by example the application of the method to rock of various types and the extreme changes in composition that can be vaccomplished by the new method, but it is to be understood that better grades of rock would ordinarily be treated to avoid excessive waste quantities.

The analyses of this rock both in the raw state and after calcination are given below in order that the composition may be comparedwith a cement analysis and to indicate more clearly the separation'obtained by the new method:

, Original material Raw Y Calcined 24.30% SiOz 34.59% 1.40% .FezOa f 1.99% 5.62% A1203 8.00% 34.96% CaO 49.76% 62.43`% CaCOs 2.63% MgO 3.74% 29.75% loss This rock is rst reduced to secondary crusher sizes, preferably half to three-quarter inch ring, the Crusher being so arranged that the product will be as nearly uniform as possible, so that the degree of calcination will likewise be uniform. If there is wide variation in the particle sizes discharged from the crusher, I prefer to grade the material as by screening, and to calcine each size separately to avoid excessive heat treatment of the nner particles or incomplete ignition loss in the larger. The various sizes may be separately calcined in one or more kilns alternately or a plurality of kilnsmay be employed.

To calcine the rock, rotary kilns are preferred, in order that the degree of heat treatment both by reference to temperature and time can be controlled exactly. This rock at three-quarter inch ring size, when calcined at a temperature of 1800 degrees for approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes disintegrated within three minutes even without agitation after submergence in ten volumes of water, with relatively little loss due to reaction, as will be described more in detail hereinafter.

My experiments have shown that the best results can be obtained by preliminary treatment of available rock specimens of varying composition and particle sizes in the laboratory in order to arrive at the most eilective heat treatment to avoid loss and to obtain a maximum of disintegra-i tion. This procedure will be described hereinafter.

The rock as discharged from the calciner or calciners is preferably cooled only to a degree sufiicient to permit satisfactory mechanical handling. If a cooler is used, any conventional type, such as a rotary clinker cooler, may be employed, but the temperature should not be reduced to a point at which air slaking may result in lime and lime silica reactions which will reduce the total recovery. In order that calcination and cooling can be carried out continuously, I prefer to deliver the material alternately to at least two batch hoppers, so that the calcined material can be delivered to one while that discharged from the other being preliminary processed in a manner about to be described. The batch hoppers offer a convenient means to control the quantity of material with relation to the quantity of water in which it is submerged and the hoppers are therefore so arranged that they deliver alternately or directly to either of two wash mills.

Each wash mill, or its equivalent, should have suiiicient capacity to receive one batch and about 10 to 15 volumes of water by reference to the volume of material. Immediately upon submergence in the wash mill, the rock is violently disintegrated, due to quenching and expansion in the conversion of the calcium oxide to calcium hydrate. Each lump rapidly expands and breaks down to fine sizes. As the hot rook disintegrates rapidly, the powder which forms almost instantly on the outer surfaces of the batch prevents immediate complete wetting of buried lumps. Disintegration is, therefore, accelerated by the eifect of the wash mill in turning over or stirring the batch in the presence of an excess of water, and this likewise limits the degree of partial reaction between lime and silica compounds.

The operation of the wash mill to accelerate the disintegration is carried out only for a short interval, forordinarily the mass is completely disintegrated and suspended within one to three minutes. Immediately thereafter, the wash mill is stopped to permit precipitation of the argillaceous compounds. The coarse silicas, together with the small quantity of coarse particles of other compounds which may be present due to premature reaction, or any natural forms not modied by calcination, settle almost instantly. Most of the clay compounds settle within 45 seconds. As soon as the liquid appears white, indicating that the suspended matter is relatively high in calcium hydrate, substantially all of this liquid is drawn oi and delivered to a thickener, in which the water in excess of a normal slurry mixture is separated. This water is preferably stored and used in circulation in the process for purposes of economy and likewise to avoid continuing losses due to solubility of the small quantity of calcium hydroxide that will go into solution, sumcient additional water being added from time to time merely to make up losses due to evaporation and combination with the calcium oxide to form calcium hydrate.

The length of the interval in which the clay compounds are allowed to settle in the wash mill determines the degree of purity of calcium hydrate separated and recovered as described above, but it is to be realized that as the ultimate mixture requires four essential constituents and preferably of the iinest sizes, long periods of settling are undesirable and the degree of purity of the de-hydrated product would normally not necessarily exceed approximately calcium oxide.

With reference to the rock specimen discussed, a settling interval of 45 seconds resulted in a recovery of iine particles having the following analysis:

Per cent SiOz 4.80 Fe203 1.48 A1203 2.70 CaO 85.80 MgO 2.70

By reference to the analysis of the original calcined stone, it will be seen that an extreme separation has been made between the calcium, silica and alumina compounds, and it will also appear that the iron which is desirable to replace part of the alumina has not been lost in similar degree, owing to its naturally i'lne state of subdivision, and the release of these particles caused by the hydration and disintegration of the calcined lumps. It is also to be noted that the magnesia has been reduced approximately 1%. My experiments have indicated that magnesia separation varies with different classes of original stone, but that in some cases the separation at this point may be as much as half of the original quantity. In the above and following analyses, the percentages are based upon the calcium oxide instead of calcium hydroxide values; that is, the dead burned analyses of the products, to avoid misunderstanding.

The remaining quantities of the essential constituents remaining in the residue in the wash mill may be separated and recovered in several ways. I prefer, for reasons of flexibility in control, as well as to obtain greater operating capacity from the equipment available, to add sufficient water to the residue whereby it may be pumped from the wash mill and classified in adcordance with particle sizes. For this purpose I prefer to use a classifier of the combined bowl and rake type, in which the separation can be made continuously. By varying the degree of agitation in the bowl classifier and rake box, and

particularly the degree of settling permitted in the latter, the separation in accordance with particle sizes permits a wide latitude in the control of analysis. The rake-discharge includes all of the coarse" particles, particularly the coarse quartz. If the degree of silica and alumins elimination is not sufficiently complete, by eliminating only the coarse sands the degree of separation may be increased by increasing the quantity of water with or without decreasing the agitation, whereby more of the coarser particles of these compounds which settle more slowly than the .sands are permitted to precipitate. The simplest expedient to increase the rate or the quantity of particles precipitated is to increase the proportion ofV water with respect to total solids; in other words, to. employ a thinner mixture. Substantially the same results can be obtained, but with some danger of wasting desirable quantities, by siphoning or pumping some of the suspended matter from the rake box at varying distances above the rake elements. This permits rapid removal of some of the solids which failed to precipitate rapidly enough to obtain the desired rake discharge. r

As an alternative to recover the desirable compounds from the wash mill residue, ten to iifteen volumes of water may be added to the residue therein, and the mixture again stirred and allowed to settle'for al suicient intervalto permit the precipitation` of' the undesirable compounds, the interval being normally approximately 45 seconds, but readily determined with any rock residue by analyzing samples obtained at different settling periods. When the desired degree of settling has been obtained, substantially all of the liquid with the suspended solid-s is drawn off.

These products so recovered, or the same products as recovered from the bowl and rake classi-` er may then be delivered tor the thickener, and' as the process is continuous, the underflow can be controlled within the desired proportions and ratios.

By further reference to the rock specimen discussed, the combination of the two quantities of material recovered and mixed were of the following analysis: f

' Per cent SO2 22.98 F8203 1.64 A1203 6.26 C30 MgO 2.80

It will be seen that this analysis, when corrected for coal ash and gypsum, will result in al or coarse particles, had the following analysis:-

Per cent SiO2 72.01 *R203 12.50 CaO 1-.. V10,20 MgO 5.51

*Y Combined iron and alumina." VThey high degree of 'silica elimination isV parr 5 ticularly of interest to cement chemists, in that ythese sands include all of the uncombinable quartz. Attention is also directed to the total quantity of magnesia eliminated. The calcium values discarded are probably due to incomplete release of the physical bond bctween'it and the other compounds, particularly silica, resulting from incomplete ignition loss, partial reaction or both. AThis loss is inconsiderable, however, in view of the fact that the reduction of particle sizes hasbeen carried out at considerably less expense than by conventional grinding methods, and is likewise more than offset byl the increase in strength characteristics of the finished -cement, resulting from the complete reaction of the constituents.` Saving the cost of importing limestone as a partial corrective is, of course, the greatest economy where the available material could have been used in its natural state as the principal component of the mixture. The resulting product likewise has the advantage of more economical and complete kiln reactions, not only due to the neness of particle sizes and ther intimate contact, but also to the preliminary ignition loss. Accordingly, in the clinkering kiln, it is only necessary to drive oif `the water and bring the mixture up to clinkering temperature, and it follows that greater kiln capacity in clinker can be had as compared with conventional methods.

In order further to illustrate the exibility inv control of analysis that may be had even withA a rock of such extremely poor quality as that cited by way of example, the residue precipitated after the iirst stirring when again stirred in ten volumes of water and allowed to settle for a period of one minute provided an overflow of the following analysis:

SiOz 22.80 FezOa- 1.78 A1203 4.28 CaO 63,70 MgO f 2.9 9

It will be seen that the analysis above given is only slightly below a normal Portland cement mixture in calcium value. Theiron recovery is even more favorable and there has also been a loss inmagnesia. varying the degree of classication, by vvarying the time of settling or otherwise, the analysis of the primary and. secondary recoveries can be controlled to arrive at almost any desired ultimate analysis, Ior analysis of any intermediate recovery.

If'the rock delivered to the calciners is fairly uniform in composition overa period of time, the composition as withdrawn from the thickener can be controlled within the desired limits of the mixture to be burned. However, in order that excessive care in analysis and control may be avoided, and cements of various compositions produced alternately without delay, I prefer to effect the nal mixture as shown in Fig. 2. The white, supernatant liquid resulting from the iirst stir- It will thus be seen that byI ring and settling in the wash mills is drawn off r and .delivered to a thickener high calcium values.

From this thickener, the suspended solids, de-

watered to normal slurry moisture content, are delivered to one or more storage or blending tanks.

reserved for these Theusablene constituents resulting from the second separatiom as by the classification apparatus, are delivered to a second thickener, from e eign materials.

which the cie-watered solids are pumped to other blending' tanks. A As normal routine analysis will indicate the approximate composition of the second recovery, recoveries made at different times may be separately stored in blending tanks, particularly in accordance with the calcium value. This permits the chemist to withdraw and proportion the necessary quantities of the first and second recoveries made at different times to eiect a final mixture of the desired ultimate analysis, the iinal mixture and blending being accomplished in a manner similar to the ordinary wet blending of cement raw material mixtures.

Thus, with the exception of the care necessary to obtain the proper degree of calcination, the rock may be treated, regardless of variation in composition, just as it comes from the quarry, to eiect the removal particularly of uncombinable quartz and excesses of one or more constituents, and Without the careful contr-ol necessary to effect the mixture in a single thickener.

In normal operation, and during one interval of operation, the rock as quarried may be only slightly excessive in one or more constituents, but yduring succeeding intervals more extreme variation from the desired analysis may be expected and it will be apparent that by controlling the settling and 'classiiication apparatus for the primary purpose of removing uncombinables, waste of usable quantities of certain constituents recovered from low grade rock can be avoided by storing them and later combining them with recoveres made from higher grade argillaceous limestones, or recoveries of higher grade derived from the same or other low grade rock.

Very' frequently the raw materials available to a. manufacturer comprise at least two groups, one of which is below a mix with respect to calcium carbonate, and the other above. Although it will appear that under most conditions the low and high stones could be combined in the proper proportions, as components of'the final mixture, to correct the lime modulus, either the relative quantities so taken may be entirely disproportionate or 'the/combination may fail entirely to correct the proportions of the other essential constituentsand the other ratios, and the total magnesia may exceed permissible limits. It will be evident that mixtures can be produced, by the new method as above described, from either of these high or vlow stones, but it will be seen that if both are available in quantity, separate treatment to produce a mix may require large slurry storage capacity and difficult blending problems to avoid waste of combinables, such as the excessive combinable silica of the low stone and the excessive calcium carbonate of the high stone.

Under such circumstances, and with materials generally similar to those described hereinafter, itis usually preferable for reasons of economy in available equipment, to treat only the high-grade stone to remove therefrom the major portion of the siliceous material, together with variable quantities of the other clay compounds and for- These are removed in accordance with the method above described, and the final mixture made up by combination of the recovered ne products with the necessary proportions of the low-grade stone to arrive at a desired ultimate analysis with the least Waste of combinable constituents.

As a specic example, high and low-grade stones taken from the same quarry in the Lehigh Valley districtl serve to illustrate the preferred procedure. For the sake of brevity, the raw analyses of materials will be discussed:

Low-grade High-grade 21.56 SiO2 8.40 2.24 FezOz 1.20 4.20 A1203 2.40 38.08 CaO 43.68 68.00 CaCO3 '78.00 1.92 MgO 4.78 4.00 MgCO3 10.00

If these materials were combined as components of a mixture on a basis of 3.5 parts of the low limestone to 6.5 parts of the high-grade stone, the mixture would be approximately correct with respect to all of the essential constituents, but the magnesia content would be above permissible limits, and therefore the mixture could not be used. The analyses of such a mixture and the resulting cement (not corrected for coal ash or gypsum) would be as follows:

Mixture Cement 13.00 SiO2 20.60 1.56 FezOs 2.48 3.04 A1203 4.82 41.72 CaO 66.10 '74.50 CaCOg 3.78 MgO 6.00 7.90 MgCO?,

S102 2.50 F6203 .98 A1203 1.76 CaO 49.03 CaCO3 87.56 MgO 3.44 MgCOa 7.20

It is to be especially noted that in addition to the Wide separation of all clay compounds, there has been a reduction of nearly 3% in magnesia. Although the degree of magnesia elimination is not as great in this specimen as in some others, it serves to illustrate how the treatment of the specimen makes it suitable for use. By discarding all but a small percentage of the argillaceous compounds, the total quantity of recovered product necessary to produce the ultima mixture will be only 1.1 parts to 1.9 parts of the untreated loW-grade stone. As a result, the total magnesia will be well within permissible limits and the analysis of the mixture and the cement produced therefrom (not corrected for coal ash or gypsum) will be as follows:

Mixture Cement 14.57 SiOz 22.68 1.78 Fe203 2.77 3.30 Al203 5.10 42.10 CaO 65.54 75.17 CaCOs 2.48 MgO 3.86 5.18 MgCOa Inneither of the original components was the alumina high, but as the reduction in the quantity present in the recovered product will make obvious, if the high-grade stone had been excessive in alumina, control of the total analysis of the recovered product together with the relative proportion used in combination withy the other component would enable the chemist to correct the filial mixture. Thus, theabove example is intended to show that many of the advantages of the new method can be realized in controlling a final analysis as to all constituents merely by treating one component of the mixture. It will be understood that, in general, greater economy in'reducing the stone and burning the mixture to Aclinker will be obtained if all the stonek is treated,

and that the finished cement is likely to be of greater strength and more nearly uniform.

It will now be seen that the chemist can producek anultimate mixture from such materials corrected as to both proportions and ratios and employ only the materials available to him, without going to the expense of importing correctives which may not achieve the desired result, in View of his inability, with natural correctives, to control the proportions and ratios of all constituents, and it is to be noted that the above procedure is economical in the use of the high-grade stone.

Although I have referred to two recovered products resulting from the rst settling and overflow from the washmill, and the second recovery obtained from the residue, it will be realized that after the first recovery is made, more than one recovery can be made therefrom by repeating the suspension or other classification of the residue and drawing on the supernatant liquid after different periods of settling or degrees of classication. However, this repetition in the treatment of the residue is unnecessary, particularly when the second recovery from rocks of similar composition is separately storedand proportioned as above described.

As described before, fine products discharged from the secondary crusher are especially diflicult to calcine to the exact degree necessary to cause disintegration and suspension of the calcium values, as calcium hydrate, and that unless extreme care is exercised much of the calcium may be lost either due to incomplete ignition loss and failure to break the physical bond -between the calcium and silica compounds, or

Rosendale or natural cement reactions resulting `from overburning and hydration.

In either case the compounds are in vrelatively coarse form and settle quickly in the classification apparatus and are discarded by the rake or other means employed to remove the sands. Where the nature of the equipment available makes it impossible to control calcination properly, I prefer to treat the material as indicated in Fig. 3. The fines segregated by screening or other conventional methods are ground in their natural raw state in a conventional pulverizer, such as a tube mill, to normal cement raw material flneness, in the presence of water to form a slurry. This slurry is likewisedelivered to a separate blending tank, from which it may be proportioned with the products recovered from the calcined coarse particles or lumps.

Although I have referred to the use of two wash mills, which may be used alternately to provide for continuous operation, it will be understood that any device capable of stirring the batches may be used. Grinding in the normal sense is not required, and accordingly hydroseparators or bowl classifiers may be substituted for wash mills, provided the rake or equivalent apparatus is made sufcientlystrong to stir the coarse lumps discharged from the batch hoppers. It will likewise be understood that if the composition of the rock to be treated requires only a'limited correction, especially by elimination of silica, only one separation need be made and that from the wash mill or its equivalent, the suspended matter may be 4decanted immediately after the coarse particles have precipitated.

Although relatively little iron is discarded with the waste products, it will be ob-vious that in some rocks a part of the iron will be in a relatively coarse form and will be precipitated `with the quartz and other siliceous compounds. Accordingly, thesands discarded by the classification apparatus may be passed over a wet concentratio-n table and separation effected between the iron and other constituents. The iron so separated, together with any desirable quantities of the remaining constituents are preferably ground by conventional methods and used in the necessary quahtity to correct the proportions. Likewise, if the available material is decient, especially in iron, to a degree that only partial correction can be effected, the new method is of great commercial importance in effecting the partial correction, and the ultimate mixture can be brought to the desired composition without difficulty by adding a relatively small quantity of this constituent,v obtained from an outside source.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that by the new method, mixtures can be obtained solely, if desired, from an available inferior material, and that undesirablequantities and forms of certain constituents, together with quantities of foreign materials can be jeliminated and that materials can be' employed in the manufacture of cement which'cannot be completely corrected byy methods known heretofore, excepting that described in my patent'referred to above; I- n 1* As referred to before, thedegree of calcination which will 'produce the most complete disintegration and recovery from any rock canv readily be determined in the laboratory. It is to beborne in mind that the temperature and interval of heating will depend upon the composition of the rock with especial reference to the fine silicas present and especially those made active at the temperature of liberation of the carbon dioxide. As at least apart of the silica will be vactivated at temperatures below the ignition'poilnt of calcium carbonate, the interval and temperature should both be controlled to the minimum necessary to obtain the disintegration above described. Likewise, as the rate of calcination is influenced by the size of particles or lumps, the samples to be treated should be graded whereby they may be calcined separately. Calcination may be carried out experimentallyin a laboratory electric furnace at temperatures ranging slightly above the ignition temperature of calcium carbonate and ranging approximately from 1600 to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Each size should be heated for vario-us intervals ordinarily not exceeding three hours for normal secondary Crusher sizes. The calcined stone, preferably while'still hot, to avoid air sla-king and consequent combination of a part of the calcium and silica, should be submerged in a beaker, for instance,r in approximately ten to fifteen volumes of water. If properlycalcined, the sample Will tend to disintegrate almost instantly, and all particles can be suspended by stirring briey.

The liquid is allowed to settle for a suiicient length of time until it appears as a white milk of lime, which should take place within approximately forty-five seconds. This liquid is drawn oi and reserved for analysis. Water is again added and the residue stirred and allowed to settle until the sands or coarse particles have precipitated. The liquid is then decanted and both products reserved for analysis. As will now be obvious, the preferable degree of calcination will be apparent from the sample, the nal coarse residue of which is of lowest calcium value.

I claim:

1. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of a desired ultimate analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, containing undesirable quantities of at least one constituent, which comprises reducing the stone to sizes suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree sufficient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but short of a degree sufficientto cause material calcium and silica reactions, particularly during hydration in an excess of water, submerging the stone in a quantity of water sufficient to hydrate the calcium oxide and to suspend substantially all of the calcium hydrate, agitating the submerged stone to suspend the fine particles of all constituents, allowing the coarse particles to precipitate, drawing oi the suspended ne particles and discarding the coarse particles.

2. The method of preparing a cement raw ma terial mixture of a desired ultimate analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, containing the constituents calcium carbonate, silica, alumina and iron, at least one of which occurs in excessive quantity, which comprises reducing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree sufcient to liberate substantially all the carbon dioxide,but short of a degree suicient to cause material calcium and silica reactions, particularly during hydration in an excess of water submerging'the calcined stone in an excessive quantity of water suiiicient to disintegrate the stone by hydration, and to permit suspension of the fine particles, agitating the submerged stone to suspend the particles, separating the iine from the coarse particles and discarding the coarse particles.

3. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of a desired ultimate analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, containing the constituents calcium carbonate, silica, alumina and iron, at least one of which occurs in excessive quantity, which comprises reducing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree sufficient to liberate substantially all the carbon dioxide, but short of a degree suicient to cause materal calcium and silica reactions, particularly during hydration in an excess of water, submerging the calcined stone in an excessive quantity of water sufficient to disintegrate the stone by hydration, and to permit suspension of the ne particles, agitating the submerged stone to suspend the particles, permitting the particles to settle to precipitate the clay compounds, drawing 01T the suspended calcium hydrate, adding additional Water to the residue and segregating the ne from the coarse particles, discarding the coarse particles, and combining the ne particles with the calcium hydrate.

4. The inethod.'oi'. preparing a cement rawmaterial mixture ofA a predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, in which at least one of the constituents, silica and alumina, occurs in excessive quantity, which comprises reducing the stone to sizes suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree Sumcient to liberate the carbon dioxide, but short of a degree sufficient to cause material calcium and silica reactions, particularly during hydration in an excess of water, submerging the stone in an excess of Water suicient to hydrate the calcium oxide and suspend the calcium hydrate, agitating the stone to accelerate suspension of all nne particles, separating the iine particles of all constituents from the coarse and discarding the coarse particles to eliminate the said excessive quantity.

5. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of desired ultimate analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, containing the constituents silica and alumina, at least one of which is present in excessive quantity, which comprises crushing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree suicient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but insuflicient to produce material reactions between the calcium and silica in the presence of water, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water sufficient to hydrate the calcium oxide and to suspend the calcium hydrate, agitating the submerged stone t-o suspend the particles, allowing the clay compounds to precipitate, drawing oi substantially all or" the water to recover the suspended calcium hydrate, adding an additional quantity of water to the residue in quantity sufficient to suspend the fine particles thereof, agitating the submerged residue, classifying to recover the iine particles, and discarding the coarse particles to eliminate the said excessive quantity.

6. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of desired ultimate analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, containing the constituents silica and alumina, at least one of which is present in excessive quantity, Which 1 comprises crushing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone to a degree suicient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but insuiiicient to produce material reactions between the calcium and silica in the presence of water, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water suicient to hydrate the calcium oxide and to suspend the calcium hydrate, agitating the submerged stone to suspend the particles, allowing the clay compounds to precipitate, drawing oi substantially all of the water to recover the suspended calcium hydrate, adding an additional quantity of water to the residue in quantity suiiicient to suspend the iine particles thereof, agitating the submerged residue, classifying the residue to recover the iines, combining the fines with the previously recovered calcium hydrate, and discarding the coarse particles to eliminate the said excessive quantity.

7. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of desired ultimate analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, containing the constituents silica and alumina, at least one of which is present in excessive quantity, which comprises crushing the stone to a size suitable for oalcining, calcining the stone only to a degree suiicient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but insufficient to produce material reactions between the calcium and silica in the presence of water, submerging the calcined stone in an'excessqof watersuilcient to Vhydrate the` calcium oxidefand. to suspend the calcium hydrate, agitating the submergedstone to'su'spend the particles, allowing' the clay compounds to precipitate, drawing ai substantially all of the water to recover the suspended calcium hydrate, adding an additional quantity` of water to the Vresidue in quantity` sui`n`cientto suspend thev ne particles thereof, agitating the submerged residue, classifying the residuefaccording to size to separate tlie'coarsest lparticles to eliminatethe'excessive quantity ofsaid constituent, andyarying the degree of 'classication to control thev quantity so eliminated.

8. Ther method of preparing a cement raw maf terial mixture of adesired'predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones in which at least some of the silica occurs in aform too coarse for favorable combination in the process of burning to clinker',-which,comprises'reducing thestone 'to sizes vsuitable for.y calcining; calcining the stone onlyto a degree suiicient to liberate 'substantially' all of the*A carbony dioxide, but insucient to produce compoundsr of .calcium and silica in the presenceofwater, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water suiicient to disintegrate the stone by quenching and hydration of the calcium oxide and to Suspend 'the fine particles, agitating thev submerged stone to accelerate suspension of.A the neparticles, permitting the coarse silica particles to precipitate and drawing olf the suspended rlne particles and discarding the-precipitated particlesl 9. The methodofk preparing a cement raw material mixture of a desired predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones in which at least one constituent occurs in excessive quantity, which comprises reducing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree suflicient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but insuflicient to cause material reaction between calcium kand silica in the presence of water, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water suiiicient in quantity to hydrate the calcium oxide and to suspend the ne particles of calcium hydrate, agitating the submerged stone to suspend the particles, allowing the coarse particles and the clay compounds to settle, drawing oil' the water to recover the calcium hydrate, de-watering the latter to normal slurry water content, adding water to the residue, agitating the residue to suspend the fine particles, separating the same from the coarse particles, de-watering these fine particles. combining them with the calcium hydrate in the desired proportion and discarding the coarse particles to eliminate the excessive quantity.

10. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of a desired predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones in which at least one constituent occurs in excessive quantity, which comprises reducing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree suilicient to liberate substantially all ofn the carbon dioxide, but insullicient to cause material reaction between calcium and silica in the presence of Water, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water sufficient in quantity to hydrate the calcium oxide and to suspend the fine particles of calcium hydrate, agitating the submerged stone to suspend the particles, allowing the coarse particles and the clay compounds to settle, drawing oif the water to recover the calcium hydrate, de-watering the latterto 'normal slurry water content,f'a'dding water to the residue, agitating and classifying the residue according to Size to separate the coarser particles, discarding the coarse particles and ,controlling the quantity discarded of the constituentoccurring in excess, by controlling thedegree of classification, de-watering the line particles and combining them with the calcium hydrate in the desired proportions to elect the said mixture. c i

111. The method iofi preparing a cement raw materialr mixture of'a desired'predetermined analysis from inferiorargillaceous limestoneswhich vary in analysis'from time` tof time as received fortreatmenu'. each of which contains at least one constituent-in an excessive quantity which comprises crushing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree: suilicient to liberate substantially all `of the'carbony dioxide, but short'of a degreesui'licient to cause materiali calcium and silica"reactions, particularly during.- hydration in an excess of water submerging the calcined stone inv 'a sulicientquantity of t"water to'lhydrate the calcium oxide and suspend substantially all of the calcium hydrataagitating the submerged calcined@ stone to-suspend the line particles of 'to a degree sufficient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but short of a degree suilicient to cause material calcium and silica reactions, particularly during hydration in an excess of water, submerging the calcined stone in a sufficient quantity of water to hydrate the calcium loxide and suspend substantially all of the calcium hydrate, agitating the calcined stone to suspend the calcium hydrate, separating and discarding a major quantity of the clay compounds from the calcium hydrate, de--watering the latter to substantially normal slurry water content and combining these recovered products with the necessary quantity of the other component vto produce the said mixture.

13. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of a desired predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones which vary in analysis from time to time as received for treatment, each of which contains at least one constituent in an excessive quantity, whichy comprises crushing the stone to a size suitable for calcining, calcining the stone only to a degree suflicient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but short of a degree surcient to cause material calcium and silica reactions, particularly during hydration in an excess of water, submerging the calcined stone in a suilicient quantity of water to hydrate the calcium oxide and suspend substantially all 'of the calcium hydrate,

agitating the submerged calcined stone to suspend the lne particles of all constituents, permitting the coarse particles to precipitate to segregate the particles too coarse for favorable combination in the process of burning to clinker, drawing of the ne particles of all constituents, de-watering them to normal slurry moisture content, storing them in accordance with their calcium value and proportioning and blending the slurries so produced by combining quantities of calcium value below that desired for the mixture with quantities of greater calcium value to produce a final mixture of the desired calcium value.

14. The method of preparing'a cement raw material mixture of predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones containing at least oneof the constituents silica and alumina in excessive quantity, which comprises crushing the stone to sizes suitable for calcining, classifying` the reduced stone in accordance with sizes, separatelycalcining each size land controlling the degree of :calcination to liberate substantiallyV all` of the carbon dioxide, but insucient to cause material reaction in the presence of water, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water suflicient to hydrate the calcium oxide, and to suspend the fine particles, agitating the submerged stone to accelerate suspension of the ne particles, classifying the particles according to size, discarding a suicient quantity of the coarsest particles to eliminate the excessive quantity of said constituent.

l5. 'I'he method of treating inferior argillaceous limestones to produce a cement raw material mixture of a desired predetermined analysis', and toreduce the stone to particle sizes suitable for burning to cement, clinker, which comprises crushing the stone to a. size suitable for calcination, calcining the stone only to a degree sumcient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but insuilicient to cause material reactions between calcium and silica in the presence of Water, submerging the calcined stone in a quantity of water sufficient to cause disintegration by quenching and hydration of the calcium oxide and suspension of the line particles, agitating the submerged stone to accelerate suspension, separating the ne from the coarse particles, and discarding the latter.

16. The method of preparing a cement raw material mixture of a desired predetermined analysis from inferior argillaceous limestones, which comprises reducing the stone to particle sizes suitable for calcining, classifying the stone according to sizes, reducing the fine particles in a raw state in the presence of water to normal slurry fineness, storing the said slurry in a blending tank,y separately calcining the remaining stone according to size to a degree suilicient to liberate substantially all of the carbon dioxide, but insufiicient to cause material reaction between the calcium and silica in the presence of water, submerging the calcined stone in an excess of water sufficient to hydrate the calcium oxide, and to suspend the ne particles, agitating the submerged stone to accelerate suspension of the ne particles, drawing off the fme particles and de-watering them to' normal slurry water content, and proportioning and blending them with the slurry first mentioned to produce a mixture of the desired analysis.

CHARLES H. BREERWOOD. 

